History

Kool-Aid was invented by
Edwin Perkins in
Hastings, Nebraska. All of his experiments took place in his mother's kitchen.[1] Its predecessor was a liquid concentrate called Fruit Smack. To reduce shipping costs, in 1927, Perkins discovered a way to remove the liquid from Fruit Smack, leaving only a powder. This powder was named Kool-Aid. Perkins moved his production to
Chicago in 1931 and Kool-Aid was sold to
General Foods in 1953.[2] Hastings still celebrates a yearly summer festival called Kool-Aid Days on the second weekend in August, in honor of their city's claim to fame. Kool-Aid is known as
Nebraska's official
soft drink.[3][4]

An agreement between Kraft Foods and
SodaStream in 2012 made Kool-Aid's various flavors available for consumer purchases and use with SodaStream's home soda maker machine.[5]

Production

Kool-Aid is usually sold in powder form, in either packets or small tubs. The actual beverage is prepared by mixing the powder with sugar (the packets of powder are usually, though not always, unsweetened) and water, typically by the pitcherful. The drink is usually either served with ice or refrigerated and served chilled. Additionally, there are some sugar-free varieties.

Kool-Aid is also sold as single-serving packets designed to be poured into bottled water, as small
plastic bottles with pre-mixed drink, or as such novelties as ice cream or fizzing tablets.

The colors in Kool-Aid will stain, and hence the substance can be used as a
dye for either
hair[6] or
wool.[7]

Advertising and promotion

The
Kool-Aid Man, an
anthropomorphic pitcher filled with Kool-Aid, is the
mascot of Kool-Aid. The character was introduced shortly after General Foods acquired the brand in the 1950s. In television and print ads, the Kool-Aid Man was known for randomly bursting through walls of children's homes and proceeding to make a batch of Kool-Aid for them. His
catchphrase is "Oh, yeah!"

Starting in 2011, Kraft began allocating the majority of the Kool-Aid marketing budget towards Latinos. According to the brand, almost 20 percent of Kool-Aid drinkers are Hispanic, and slightly more than 20 percent are African-American.[8]

In 2013, Kraft decided to overhaul the Kool-Aid Man, reimagining him as a CGI character, "a celebrity trying to show that he's just an ordinary guy."[9]

In popular culture

"
Drinking the Kool-Aid" refers to the 1978
Jonestown Massacre; the phrase suggests that one has mindlessly adopted the dogma of a group or leader without fully understanding the ramifications or implications. At Jonestown,
Jim Jones' followers followed him to the end: after visiting Congressman
Leo Ryan was shot at the airstrip, all the Peoples Temple members drank from a metal vat containing a mixture of "Kool Aid",
cyanide, and prescription drugs
Valium,
Phenergan, and
chloral hydrate. Present-day descriptions of the event often refer to the beverage not as Kool-Aid but as
Flavor Aid,[14] a less-expensive product from
Jel Sert reportedly found at the site.[15]Kraft Foods, the maker of Kool-Aid, has stated the same.[16][17] Implied by this accounting of events is that the reference to the Kool-Aid brand owes exclusively to its being better-known among Americans. Others are less categorical.[14] Both brands are known to have been among the commune's supplies: Film footage shot inside the compound prior to the events of November shows Jones opening a large chest in which boxes of both Flavor Aid and Kool-Aid are visible.[18] Criminal investigators testifying at the Jonestown inquest spoke of finding packets of "cool aid" (sic), and eyewitnesses to the incident are also recorded as speaking of "cool aid" or "Cool Aid."[19] However, it is unclear whether they intended to refer to the actual Kool-Aid–brand drink or were
using the name in a generic sense that might refer to any powdered flavored beverage.